LONG BEACH, CALIF. -- California native Ebone Henry continued
her strong homecoming as the University at Albany women's basketball team
triumphed over Canisius in the third place game of the Long Beach Classic,
67-47. Coming off a career-high 29
points the night before, the senior guard led all scorers with 20 points. The
Great Danes finished the tournament 1-1 and defeated the Griffs for the second
time this season.

After a 6-6 start, UAlbany went on a 14-3 run, holding
Canisius scoreless for nearly five minutes. Three straight buckets by freshman
Shreesha Richards gave the Great Danes an early double-digit lead, 20-9, with
9:58 remaining in the first half.

The Great Danes continued to add to their lead. With 4:13 to
go in the first, UAlbany extended their advantage to 17, 30-13. As Canisius
attempted to chip away with a five-point run of their own, back-to-back three's
by Henry and guard Margarita Rosario put the margin back to 16, 38-22, at half.

UAlbany controlled both the boards and ball through 20
minutes. They outrebounded the Griffs 23-14 and had nine steals to Canisius' 0.
Henry continued on her scoring spree, ending the first half with a game-high 13
points.

Another early run by the Great Danes built their lead into
the second half. UAlbany went on a 12-2 run, blowing the game open, 53-31 with
14:04 to go. Richards continued to add to her point total with six points over
the span.

Richards and Henry led UAlbany to the final buzzer as they rolled
over Canisius down the stretch, winning 67-47. The two combined for 35 points.
Richards scored 15 points with a career-high seven steals.

The Great Danes dominated nearly every statistical category.
These included steals: 14-3, turnovers: 19-12, and rebounds: 46-36. They shot
76.5 percent (13-17) from the free throw line and 39.1 percent from the field
(25-64).

"This was a great tournament for Ebone, coming home to California," said UAlbany head coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson, who has guided the Great Danes to their best-ever Division I start. "She played hard. I thought Ebone, Shereesha [Richards] and Julie [Forster] took over this game. Overall, we leave Long Beach feeling strong."

Tonight concluded the Great Danes non-conference schedule
for 2012-13. They will enjoy the holiday break before getting back to action
Jan. 2 against America East opponent UMBC. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m. at RAC
Arena.